Depp signs for Aussie role

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Johnny Depp is to produce and star in a movie version of the novel Shantaram, the story of an Australian heroin addict and jailbird.

In one of the biggest film rights deals of the year, Warner Bros studios and several partners acquired the rights from Gregory David Roberts for $US2 million ($A2.7 million) and immediately signed Depp to lead the cast, Daily Variety said today.

Shantaram depicts the adventures of a drug addict who is convicted of robbery in Australia but escapes jail and flees to India where in reinvents himself as a doctor in the slums of Bombay.

He also relaunches his criminal career, dabbling in counterfeiting, smuggling and gunrunning in a series of adventures that led him to the wilds of Afghanistan.

The 1,000-page book, first published last year, was the first that Roberts has written and is based on his own experiences.

The novel is being hailed in Hollywood as a new Papillon, the 1969 true-life prison adventures on Devil's Island, off Guyana, of author Henri Charriere that was also turned into a movie blockbuster.

Among those involved in the movie rights deal are producer Brad Grey, movie star Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's production partner, and Initial Entertainment.

Variety said that Australian Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe had initially been interested in playing the lead role in the film.

The reluctant star Depp, 40, is currently shooting a remake of the film version of author Roald Dahl's children's story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in Britain.

He has also signed on to star in a new movie called Corpse Bride by director Tim Burton, who helped propel Depp to fame in Edward Scissorhands.